Taste & Mouth Feel: Musty barn yard, mildly tart, earthy with a wood and hay flavor. Raw grain and ripe fruit lemony with more earthened tones. Minty with more thrashings of herbal and medicinal phenols. Bitter and sweet very raw. Finishes with a barrage of phenols and lands semi-dry on the palate. Warming alcoholic esters in the end.

Drinkability & Notes: A killer brew, you taste bud will never be the same beer has never tasted like this before. Past heavenly and only the most pungent of cheese will make a dent in it character. I went with an aged blue cheese between the two it was like cutting teeth, lovely.

More User Reviews:

Appearance  The liquid hit my glass in a fog. It is light brown in color and produced a massive, retentive head. The carbonation is noticeable but very easy.

Smell  This nose opened up quietly but expanded as it warmed. My favorite part of the Saison aroma, the horsey notes, were subtle but very clean. The leafy, herbish smells dominated I think and offered a promise of some light bitterness to this brew. The base was made up of a strong, heavy yeast and there was a light sourness that prevailed throughout.

Taste  This is a gigantic, hard core Saison that caught me by surprise by hiding behind a relatively mild nose. The malts clearly form the base here, but the strong leafy hops offer an effective counter attack. The horse is still light as it was at the nose. Overall, a very balanced and tasty brew.

Mouthfeel  This is a solid medium body for sure. There arent any giant carbs or sourness here, but there is a big herb-like bitterness sort of like endive or maybe even field greens.

Drinkability  This is very smooth for a Saison with an interesting dryness at the finish.

Comments  I opened this as the last home-drank bottle prior to my departure for the Belgian Beer Fest in Boston. Yee-haw!

Thanks to Mike for popping this one open - I'm always excited to try something from Fantome that I've never had before. Pours a bright orange-tinted yellow color; cloudy and musky with a few pieces of sediment floating around. The foamy white head is a few sparks of carbonation short of being fizzy; it lasts for only a few moments before it's gone.

Lots of lemon and lemon zest in the first whiff I take. Almost borderline Lemon Pledge, without the heavy amounts of "cleaner" in it, although it does have a very crisp and clean smell. I can definitely say that I haven't smelled anything else like this; other bits of fruit dangle around the edges - pear, light citrus, and maybe even banana? Spices seem heavy as well; clove, white pepper, and maybe even ginger.

Printemps, like many Fantome brews, is so hard to figure out. It's so enigmatic, strange, different, and just completely unlike anything else. I have nothing else to compare to. I finally pick up a familiar smell - some wet hay and light funky barnyard, very characteristic of the yeast used in many Fantome beers. I can't even imagine how this one will taste.

As expected, I take a sip and the first thing I think is, "what the hell am I tasting?" So different and unique and strange and tasty, all at once. Lemon hits first up front - not tart, however, rather it's sweet and actually quite spiced. Bits of cardamom, white pepper, clove, ginger, and a clusterfuck of other unidentifiable things rush into the scene. Light rotten banana and sweet pear accompany the lemon zest in the fruit department as well.

Malts lend a big helping hand; some caramel and sufficient breadiness give a nice backbone to the beer. This beer is sweet without being sickeningly so, and so goddamn discernible that it's crazy. I'm getting some notes very reminiscent of Pez candy and light strawberry fruits near the end, too - something that I was picking up on much heavier in the regular Fantome saison. Must be something unique to the brewery. Whatever it is, I love it. Medium bodied with a crisp mouth feel and a dry finish, lots of carbonation.

Holy smokes, I don't even know where to begin with this one. It's so extremely different than anything else out there that it's quite hard to gauge relative to anything else. So tasty and unique, refreshing and drinkable for being 8% ABV. Fantome never disappoints (not me, anyway) and Printemps is no exception.

By God, Fantome! You've done it again! The fresh lemon and lime zest that comes through in this beer, both in the aroma and flavor, are simply a delights to my senses. Slight notions of grains of paradise and asprin about mid-palate. Lest we forget the belgian yeast with the slightest hints of funk to come in and out and make us even happier. The 8% goes away after the first couple of sips, leaving you the most powerful human on earth. Printemps is a beer that makes me grateful to have found beer, and ecstatic that I learned to enjoy it so much.

Yellow-golden hue that seems to glow. Smells strange for a saison. The yeasts are present initially in the nose, but exit quickly and are replaced by an earthy almost smokiness. Wow, this is quite interesting. Some high tart / acidity / carbonation to start. This is muted halfway by another layer of intruding funk, that rounds down all the corners and lays fat on the tongue. The lingering aftertaste is a mixture of bitterness and sour smokiness. Very strange, but yet very drinkable.

750ml bottle, probably '06 or '07 vintage. Pours into my Fantome tulip glass a deep, rustic hazy red/orange with a billowing four finger head of creamy eggshell foam. Tons of patchy lacing on the glass. Aromas start out with some fruit, lemon zest, caramel and a big dose of floral / earthy scents. Yeasty spiciness with some musty accents. Quite nice and intriguing.

Fist sip brings a crisp fruity, mildly caramel enhanced grainy flavor upfront that slides into citrus zest and fruit accents along with big flowery and earthy characteristics. Spices blend in with Belgian yeast as it flows down with a hint of musty, rustic accents. The brew finishes crisp and dry with a slight bitterness and lingering earthy, floral aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with lots of carbonation giving the brew an arid, grainy sort of flavor. Goes down fairly easily as a saison should. Overall another interesting Fantome brew as they all usually are. This one doesn't rank as my favorite, but I'm glad I gave it a try as you never know quite what to expect when you pull the cork on a bottle.

Man, this head has character. That's my first thought as I look down into my Trois PIstoles chalice. Every head is unique, but this one steals the show for having it's own personality. I have never delayed taking my first sip of a brew while admiring the head as long as I did for this beer. The smell is near overwhelming for an amatuer such as myself. So many earthy aromas hit you at once they took me by surprise.

Tastes lemony and reminds me of Bear Spot Farm in Acton, Massachusetts where I supported a Deaf Developmentally Delayed man with his employment duties. The hay, fresh air, even the horses all jump back into my mind after taking a few sips of this offering from Fantome. This beer re-aligns your bearings with nature and the world around you even while one reviews it from the comfort of his home office in front of his modern day computer.

More than a mere beer, this was an emotional journey, one that I'll hopefully experience again. One that has inspired me to go out and find others by Fantome.

The beer pours a hazy golden color with a white head. The aroma is very complex with notes of apricots, lemons, yeast and some light funk. The flavor is lemons with some tartness. I also get citrus - apricots and oranges - as well as some yeast. The beer is very juicy tasting. The beer is extremely drinkable. Medium mouthfeel and medium to high carbonation. An excellent saison.

If there is a more consistent brewer than Fantome, I have not found it. Pours hazy orange-gold, bright, with a huge rocky white head. Fresh apricot can citrus with a funky yeast sweetness. Mouthfeel is light and clean, and a little more astringent than expected. Lovely fresh taste of fruit; more apricots, lemon, and oranges. Accompanied by coriander and citrus zest with a little bit of peppery hops. Earthy yeast background balances out the sweetness. I know "Printemps" is French for "spring" and when it comes to beer, this really feels like a springtime brew.

Glowing golden and yellow at the edges with significant hazing and floating sediment. Moderately sized, near-white head that leaves webs of lace on the way down. Pretty.

Floral yeast, apple, earth, and some funk combine very nicely in the aroma. There's also some white grape notes as well, especially as the beer warms. There's a tiny bit of a mustard aroma as well, especially on longer, bigger whiffs.

The flavor is more concentrated on the pear, green apple, white grape elements found in the aroma, with the earthy funk and mild bitterness only playing a small role. Somewhat grassy and mild yeast complement this nicely.

Medium bodied with low carbonation. I suppose it could use more bubbly.

Slightly translucent pale yellow appearance with lots of interior bubbles. Head is pale and fluffy, rises to almost 3/4 of an inch. Laces in delicate patches all over the glass. Good aroma, definite and distinct yeastiness with elements of fresh-cut grass, lemon, and teaberry. Light mouthfeel and active carbonation. Palate cleansing flavors, dry with apple and citric tartness but with a decent malt lying underneath. Flavor mixes well with the aroma for a well-rounded package. A little fuzzy and fizzy but one of those beers that stimulates the mouth and works the salivary glands. Very nice drinkability.

Pours a hazy lemon-yellow color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes fairly quickly into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of earthy hops, mild funk, apricots, and citrus fruits, in that order. As it warms the funk gains some steam and the fruit aromas diminish.

Tastes very good. The funky, somewhat tart fruit flavors are the first thing to hit the palate, and are soon eased by sweeter fruit and a light spiciness. Equal amounts of the aforementioned flavors carry through to the very lightly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a slick thickness with solid carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I had no problem polishing off the 750 and could have another.

Overall this is a complex saison, with more funk and tart fruit characteristics than I'm used to seeing in this style. Definitely worth a shot.

(Served in a tulip)086/477044 on corkA- This beer pours a slightly hazy lemon yellow body with a thick sticky snow white head that produces nice broken lace and some long strands of tiny bubbles trail to the surface.

S- The nice saison yeast character leads to a full wet stale wood ash aroma in the finish that grows as the beer opens. Some green grass notes and dry bubblegum esters come through as it opens aswell.

T- The bright saison yeast esters are soon over powered by a big harsh bitterness and some smoky stale wood ash aromas in the finish lead to a slight band-aid hint as it warms.

M- The medium-light mouthfeel has a gentle fizz to the finish and no astringency.

O- The nice saison is hidden away under the smoky bitter wood ash off flavors that go from balanced to dominating as the beer opens. It was hard to get through the full bottle.

I was very happy when my local goods store started carrying Fantome products (albeit only 2). So it's needless to say I picked this up immediately. My experience with Saisons isn't broad by any means so I didn't really know what to anticipate. The brew poured an orangish/golden color with a large frothy white head. Smell had a fruity tartness to it with notes of spice and a slight must. First sip, hmm... I get a lot of really dry spiciness. Notes of cinnamon, hay, and something floral. I was actually expecting something a little more tart after the sniffing the beer for awhile. As it warms, a lot of the dry spiciness seems to clean up and balance out. It ends up being pretty refreshing and it's hard to keep yourself from taking long swigs from the glass. Excellent drinkability despite the high ABV. This was definately an excellent pickup for me.

Pours a thick creamy head, built of impossibly small bubbles, very typically Belgian in appearance. Color is a glowing burnt orange/amber with serious bubble activity and just hazy enough to call beautiful. The abundant lace puts it over the top. This achieves that perfect look...according to my definition of what constitutes a perfect-looking beer.

The aroma features rough lemon and musty earth, backed up by flowery spices and something vaguely mineral. Sour cherry emerges after a bit. Delightful.

Flavor is definitely unusual. Probably the most intriguing and, as the label boasts, "adventurous" of the Fantomes to cross this tongue. There's a flash of crushed grain and rust (if I could imagine the flavor of rust) and then a sour fruitiness, but without the band-aid funk or yeasty slap many in this or the Biere de Garde style achieve. Sour cherry and grapefruit rind, and eventually, as it warms, less aggressive fruits, like banana and pear. An almost peat-like earthiness comes forth, the kind you might recognize from a Scotch Ale, but that's where the comparison ends; the malts here are light and bright while also possessing a raw, grainy feel. Sourness comes back to visit in the finish, puckering the insides of the cheeks, while a yeasty nuttiness tries pushing its way in. Very good, with remarkable complexity.

Not exactly sure how to rate the mouthfeel...it's an afterthought in the wake of each extremely interesting sip. Airy and springy, nice and dry, holding its own, but maybe on the too-thin side...or maybe not. It's fine.

Because this is such an interesting experience, something that makes you go "huh?" and has you contemplating rather than gulping to get drunk (respect beer!), and because this is pretty much the last thing you'd sit around downing with buddies while watching the game or whatever...and because it's a bit rare, maybe you wouldn't rate the drinkability through the roof. But then again, you might. One thing's for sure, it's an untamed, uncompromising, unusual Belgian ale...absolutely worth seeking out.